2 more sparmates help Ancajas prepare for Rodriguez
Jerwin Ancajas finally has a date set for his IBF junior bantamweight title defense against Jonathan Javier Rodriguez of Mexico.
The Filipino southpaw will clash with the Mexican challenger on April 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
It will serve as as the opener of a triple-header featuring welterweights Jaron Ennis and Sergey Lipinets in the main event.
"Excited na akong makabalik sa ring. Matagal tagal na akong di nakalaban kaya excited na talaga ako," Ancajas told ABS-CBN News.
Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) has not fought since he halted Chile’s Miguel Gonzalez (31-3, 8 KOs) in 6 rounds in December 2019.
He waited nearly a year to get the Rodriguez fight, which was postponed twice.
To prepare Ancajas against the Mexican banger, MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons brought in 2 additional sparring partners from Mexico.
Ancajas has been sparring with his former rival Jonas Sultan, but Gibbons said it won't hurt to give Ancajas added help.
"We're sparring with a kid named Scrappy Ramirez and Christian Robles. Robles got Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez ready for his fight for Juan Estrada," Gibbons said, adding that Rodriguez is the type of fighter who likes phone booth exchanges, the same type of fight the new sparring partners are used to.
"Both sparring partners fight in a very aggressive style.
"Jonathan Rodriguez is the traditional Mexican kid, in great shape. This guy is no Sugar Ray Leonard. He's going to try to walk you down. That's exactly what these guys are emulating."